Different
by MeCakeandLove
Summary: They don't understand me. They don't understand why I do things I do. They don't understand anything I do, they just don't care. They don't see who I am. They just think of their own goddamn selves. That is, until 'her'.
1. Prologue

Luka turned the key and opened the door to her apartment. She closed the door behind her as she heard rushed footsteps from the hallway. A little girl not older than 7 with pink hair identical to Luka's own ran up to her and gave Luka the biggest smile she could muster.

"Welcome back!"

Luka responded with a small smile. "..I'm home," Luka knelt down to the same eye level as the girl and put a hand on her head.

"How was school?"

The girl reached into her pocket and took out what seemed to be a crumpled up piece of pink construction paper with pink glitters on them. "I made this in art class!" Her smile then turned into a frown. "...But it got all crumpled up when I put it in my pocket."

Luka raised a brow. "Why'd you put it in your pocket then, kiddo?"

The little girl's smile immediately returned. "I wanted to surprise you!"

"Surprise me? Wouldn't putting it in your bag be the same thing? Also, if you put it in your bag, it wouldn't get crumpled."

The girl pouted. "Then I'd have to run all the way to my room and back again? That's too much work." The little girl grinned. "And, besides, this is much more fun!"

"...So getting your artwork crumpled is 'much more fun'?" Luka muttered under her breath. The little girl then literally shoved the thing into her hands making her almost fall on the ground.

"Come on! Open it! Open it!"

 _I honestly don't know where she gets her energy from._ _But it's a nice change from those judgemental assholes in that prison called a school._

Luka's lips twitched upward a bit. "Alright, alright," She smoothened the paper out and saw a drawing with words written at the bottom. The drawing was of two stick figures, one taller than the other, both with pink hair (Though the pink didn't stand out much because the background was already pink, Luka saw it anyway), holding hands and smiling. The handwriting at the bottom read: "Luka-nee is the bestest big sistur evar!"

Despite the obvious spelling errors and almost illegible handwriting, as well as the stick figure drawings, Luka couldn't help but smile a genuine smile.

 _She's the reason I'm still alive. She's the only one that keeps me grounded and stops me from spiralling into insanity._

Luka got up from her kneeling position and headed for the kitchen, the paper still clutched in her hand.

The little girl followed Luka into the kitchen and saw her pinning the crumpled piece of construction paper to the fridge using a magnet. The girl's face immediately lit up and she had a smile that reached from ear to ear as she ran to Luka who was just finishing pinning the paper. Luka turned around and lifted the girl up, spinning her around. The little girl laughed, happiness evident on her face. Once Luka's arms got tired, she set the girl down on a stool by the counter.

"So, you hungry, kiddo?"

The little girl nodded her head, the smile not once leaving her face. "Uhuh!" Luka walked over to the kitchen. The little girl hastily climbed up to one of the chairs by the counter and sat down on said chair. Luka put on an apron and opened the fridge to look for ingredients.

"Mika, what did you want for dinner?"


	2. Chapter 1

_**Luka**_

"...And that is all for today. You are dismissed." Kiyoteru said as the bell for dismissal resounded in the halls of the school. As the students stood up, chatter filled the classroom as most of them went to their friends' desks to walk home with them and do friend things.

I stood up from my seat as quietly as possible and headed straight to the classroom door. The door was just a few feet away from me when I bumped into something. No, someone. The impact caused me to stagger back a bit but the one I bumped into was not so lucky. Turns out that the transfer student was the one I bumped into. Hatsune What's-Her-Name.

My first reaction was to just offer my hand, help her up, mumble a quick apology, and bolt for the door. Fate, however, seemed to take control of my body and me make a beeline for the door. Once the door was in sight,

I bumped into someone, again.

"Hey!" This time, Shion Kaito was blocking the path, on purpose. "You just knocked down Miku! Apologize to her."

What. The. Hell. "Get out of my way, Shion. I don't need you and your whiny ass to tell me what to do."

He seemed visibly offended. "What the hell?" My thoughts exactly. "You're the one who knocked her down and you won't even apologize?"

We weren't in a boxing match, just so you know.

"For the record, she came out of nowhere and then I slam into her. How was I supposed to know she was going to jump out right in front of me?"

He faltered. "I...uh," Kaito looked like he came up with something. "Y-you should have been looking at where you were goi-w"

"I was, but then this Miku shows up like a wild pokémon in a grass field."

The girl, Miku, chose this moment to interrupt. "It's okay, Kaito-kun, really."

"B-but she-" He stammered.

"See? She says she's fine." I, once again, let my feet direct me to the door but, for the third freaking time, I bump into someone. More like, I bump into Shion Kaito.

The fucking door is behind this. I know it.

"What could you possibly want now? A bag of peppermints?" I was ready to clobber him in any minute. He had this stupid look on his face that positively screamed 'I'm determined!'

"Miku might say she's okay but I won't let you go until I have an apology."

The classroom was empty now save for us three, if you can count the idiot in front of me as a valid person, and the sunset was slowly peeking through the windows.

I felt the corners of my mouth twitch. "Alright, alright, I'll give her the damn apology."

"Make it sincere! Like from the bottom of your heart!" The idiot then screamed while pounding a fist to his chest, where his heart would be.

"What the hell is with that line..." I muttered and then faced Miku to give her the apology.

I tried to bow as politely as I can. "I'm really sorry that I bumped into you earlier, even though I am the victim here," Mr. Ice Cream glares at me and I return it. "so I hope you accept my apology."

Her face goes bright red for some reason. "I-it's f-fine... uh, I didn't get your name yet."

"It's Luka, Megurine Luka,"

"T-there was no need to apologize in the first place, Megurine-san." Miku fidgeted with the hem of her skirt.

"Well, your friend here seemed to be intent on making me apologi-" I look around and I-Wear-A-Scarf-During-Summer is gone. "Where'd he go?"

Miku seemed to be aware of Kaito's absence. "Oh, he must probably be at the front gates by now, waiting for me."

"...How rude," I can feel my eyebrow twitch. "He's the one who got me into this mess, now he goes disappearing."

Miku some way or another noticed my growing hatred for the boy. "I-i'm really sorry about Kaito-kun. That's just the way he is."

I sighed. "...You two seem to be really close. Is he your boyfriend or something?" She blushed for the second time.

"No, w-we're just childhood friends." Miku then checked her watch. "I need to get going, Megurine-san."

"I do too. Actually, I needed to get going when dismissal came." Well, if I'm talking to her then.. "Luka."

"Eh?"

"I'm talking to you, so might as well call me by my first name."

Miku tested the name on her tongue. "...Luka," Her face then lit up. "Luka-chan!"

"W-what?"

Miku beamed at me. "Nothing!" She then started to walk away. "See you tomorrow, Luka-chan!"

I tried to flash a smile but it turned out to be more of a grimace than anything. I sigh. Well, she seems to be the most decent person in this whole school.

I exited the classroom and made my way back home. As I was passing by a window overlooking the front gates, I saw Miku and Shion Kaito exit the school gates. Before making a turn, I saw him take her hand in his. Miku didn't seem to mind. Heck, she even smiled at him. I felt my stomach tie itself into knots. I don't know why but seeing him take her hand makes me really uneasy. Almost like a monster in my chest is trying to break free.

Goddamn it, I'm getting all emo and shit.

I tore my gaze from the window and continued to head home. They already disappeared from my line of sight anyways.

 _-Different-_

"I'm home..." I called out. On cue, a scuffle of footsteps could be heard. Mika appears moments later with her hair tied up in her signature ponytail. I tied my hair once in a ponytail on an unnaturally hot day and Mika must have seen it, because the next day she tied her hair exactly like I did and she's kept it like that ever since.

"Welcome home, Luka-nee!"

I reached over and patted her head. She always liked it when I did that.

"I'm back. How was school?"

She beamed up at me with that ever present smile on her face. "It was great! My friend said that she wanted to come over and play." This got my attention.

"Oh?"

"Her name is Kaai Yuuki. She's really cute and has black hair tied into twin-tails!" Twin-tails. I instantly think of Miku.

What the hell is wrong with my mind!? I shook my head frantically to get rid of the thought and I think Mika was looking at me funny. I was right when she asked me this question: "Is something wrong, Luka-nee?"

"O-oh, nothing. Just thinking." _About her._

Mind, stop. Just stop. Yes, she may be the only decent person in the whole freaking school but please, calm your tits. Not that I'm saying you have tits, because you're my mind which is technically my brain and brains don't have tits but what do I know about brains anyway I haven't seen one in real life or at least seen a picture of it because why would I have a picture of a brain but then there are some in my textbooks that haven't been touched in almost five years so...

"Luka-nee? Hello~?" Mika called while waving a hand right in front of my face. I was well aware of that but it seemed that I was still in 'sleeping, kind of, with my eyes open' mode.

Mika then smiled deviously. "Luka-nee~? I just wanted you to know that some charity guys came by and kinda took your Sega Genesis-"

I didn't let her finish. "What?!"

I ran quickly to my room and prayed that it was still sitting in its usual place. The door to my room slammed against the wall as I threw it open in a panic. My eyes darted furiously around the room until it landed on the Sega Genesis sitting unharmed on my coffee table.

"Thank God, it's still here." I sighed. I turned around to see that Mika had followed me in my flurried sprint to my room. I'm sure the neighbors are wondering what the hell's causing the racket here. I shot her a glare. She just giggled.

"Not funny."

Her laughter died down. "I'm sorry, Luka-nee, but you weren't responding so I did the next best thing to snap you out of it."

I have to say, she did a damn fine job of almost giving me a heart attack.

I scooped Mika up in my arms and she giggled while a proceeded to tickle her.

"L-luka-nee! S-stop tickling me!" She said in between laughs.

"Admitting defeat already?" I challenged. Her face was bright red from laughing but she still managed to get out a "Yes". After a while, I relented and stopped, but I still had her in my arms.

"You hungry yet, kiddo?"

She hummed in agreement. "Can we have my favorite?"

I laughed a bit. This kid sure loves ramen. "Sure, sure. Extra noodles in yours?"

"Yup!"

With that, I carried her to the kitchen to start making our dinner. I set her down in her favorite seat and grabbed an apron. After putting it on, I looked inside the fridge for the ingredients. While preparing the ingredients and letting the noodles boil, my mind began to wander.

 _What was that feeling? It felt weird, almost like I wanted to throw up on the spot, which would have been gross as fuck. Is this that jealousy feeling in the dating sims I play? No way, why the hell would I be jealous? More importantly, who am I jealous of?_ I scratched my head. _Feelings are really complicated._

"Uh, Luka-nee? I think the broth is about done." Mika's voice cut through my line of thought.

"What?" I looked to the broth. "Crap!"

Several close calls and a small burn later, the ramen was done and put into two bowls.

Mika and I sat down at the table, chopsticks in hand, ready to devour the delicious food.

"Itadakimasu!" And we both start digging in. While eating, I decided to as her about her day, as any normal parent would. Though I'm not saying I'm legally her parent, just that... Shut up, me.

"Fo, kiddo, minff tewing me about fhis," I swallow the noodles I was eating. "Kaai Yuuki?"

Her face lit up like a Christmas tree at the mention of the name. "Of course! So, let's see... well I already told you how she wears her hair in twin-tails, right?"

I nod, signaling her to continue, while grabbing another mouthful of noodles.

After that, Mika had started to blabber on about what dress Yuuki always wore, what her favorite color is, how good she is in drawing, yaddah, yaddah, yaddah. I had mostly tuned out her voice, focusing completely on my ramen, pretending to be listening. One particular sentence though had caught my attention.

"There's this boy named Gacha Ryo,though." I tuned back into the conversation, my focus now fully on Mika. "He had openly said that he liked Yuuki and when they were together, I felt like I wanted to cry." She looked up at me, ramen completely forgotten, as she asked me the question every parent would be terrified to answer right now.

"Luka-nee, is something wrong with me? Why do I feel like that when Ryo's around Yuuki-chan?"

I stared off into space for a moment, trying to think of an explanation that Mika would understand. Once I formulated something coherent in my head, I started.

"You see, Mika, I'm going to put this to you very bluntly."

Mika nodded. I nodded in return with a small smile on my face.

"It seems to me that you like Yuuki as well."

I watched her face go through an array of emotions before settling on flustered embarrassment.

"E-ehh?!" She screeched. I couldn't help but smirk, just a little bit, at the flustered state Mika was in. She abruptly stood up from the table, flailing her arms wildly.

"B-b-but how could I like her?! S-she's my b-b-best friend! I-i didn't even know I swung that way..."

Oh, how cute. She didn't even know she swung that wa...Wait, what? How does she know about tha- Oh, of course. I should have known.

Note to self: Remind me to give Meiko a good whack on the head and a long, long lecture about teaching Mika shit she shouldn't know yet.

I put both my hands on either of her arms in an attempt to calm her down. Well, if she knows what "swinging the other way" means then it would be easier to tell her what she's feeling.

"Mika, calm down. Come on, let's go to the living room, we'll talk there."

She nodded, letting me guide her to the couch. Once we sat down, she began crying. I was pretty much at a loss for words. I flailed around, racking my brain for something to say. When my Japanese failed me, I hugged her close, patting her head.

After she stopped crying and had calmed down a bit, I resumed this counceling session.

"Mika..."

"I-i'm sorry, Luka-nee." She hiccuped. "I don't know w-what came over me. M-my chest s-suddenly felt t-t-tight a-and I couldn't hold it in."

I rubbed soothing circles around her back, worried that she might break down again. "Shh.. Mika, it's okay. You have nothing to apologize for. It's normal to feel like this when you like someone, thought it came a bit early, I'll still cheer ya on, alright?" I gave her a thumbs up.

She wiped the tears from her eyes, and shakily smiled at me. "You know, Luka-nee, you sometimes act like a mother-figure, a father-figure, and an older sibling all at the same time. And, honestly, I'm thankful for that. Even though you show little emotion, I can feel that you still care about me."

I was taken aback by what she said. I honestly don't do much. I just say what's right in a given situation, but I still mean them.

"T-thanks for that, Mika. I honestly don't know what to say." I rubbed the back of my head. She smiled, teeth bared. I went back to the matter at hand.

"So, Mika, still want to talk about it? Or are you too tired?"

"I can still-" She had paused to yawn. "-go on."

I shook my head. "Nope, bed it is for you, kiddo." I scooped her up in my arms and carried her to her room, which was directly across mine.

"Good night, Mika. We'll continue our little discussion tomorrow." I thought for a bit. "And, maybe, we can go to that new amusement park as well. It is Saturday tomorrow after all."

She nodded eagerly. "Un! I'm so excited, Luka-nee."

I chuckled. "Don't get too excited now. You still have to get through the night." I walked to the door of her room and switched off the lights. I waved and closed the door.

I plopped down on my bed, not bothering to change, as I had been physically and mentally exhausted.

Taking care of a kid is hard work, I tell ya.

I put a hand on my head and looked at the stars outside my window.

 _Maybe one day, I'll shine like those stars out there. And maybe one day, I'll find them._

With those thoughts in my head, I drifted off to sleep.


End file.
